FIRE Awards deadline extended due to great public interest

Due to immense interest in the FIRE Programme Awards 2013, we are extending the deadline, again. We don‘t want you to miss out, so here is your last opportunity to apply for the awards.

The deadline for submission is now 31 May 2013! That gives you more time to apply. So get ready, and start applying.

To join the select group of FIRE winners, you must apply for the 2013 Awards. The winner gets US$ 3,000.

The Fund for Internet Research and Education (FIRE) is an initiative of AFRINIC, the regional Internet registry for Africa that aims to encourage innovation and find creative, accessible and acceptable solutions to AfricaÂs ICT challenges.

Applications are open from 15 March 2013 to 31 May 2013.

The FIRE Award will be given to initiatives Âalready completed or in their final implementation phaseÂ and aligned to the funding categories and eligibility criteria 2013. There will be one winner for each category.

Categories for 2013:

Innovation on access provision: *ICT access is a common issue in the African region, especially for services that require broadband connectivity. Innovative solutions offering low cost deployment, low power consumption and low maintenance that expanded fixed and mobile access to the Internet through new forms of technical and organisational arrangements as well as improved the quality of access based on issues of accessibility, disability and linguistic diversity.

E-Development: The development, deployment and enhancement of content, applications and solutions to support timely and relevant information dissemination on a large scale using a range of network infrastructures through a variety of devices.

Freedom of expression: Initiatives related to freedom of expression, freedom of association, privacy, security, consumerÂs rights, new forms
of intellectual property in the digital environment, and a wider range of issues related to Internet and human rights.

In addition to the above categories, there will be a Community Choice Award category for the best social media campaign. The winner will be a project receiving the most number of votes from the community.

For more information on the Award and application process, please contact: